Movies

The movie  Groundhog Day  is a comedy movie with a spiritual lesson.  The story centers on a news weatherman named Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray).  Connors is by nature a very sarcastic curmudgeon who tends to have a very bleak outlook in life.  It does not help either that he has a self-centered, egotistic personality that tends to antagonize all but the closest of his friends. By some unusual twist of fate, he appears to be fated to relive the same day each day   Groundhog Day after being stranded in a Pennsylvania town to cover the Groundhog Day event there with the rest of his news crew including Rita (played by Andie McDowell), his producer and the object of his affection.

Phil discovers this  time loop  and it appears he is the only one experiencing it as the others have no recollection of the  past  Groundhog Day except him.  Initially disoriented by this unusual phenomenon, he gradually became accustomed to it and decided to take advantage of it by  experimenting  on possible scenarios that could possibly happen in his life without fearing any adverse consequences in the future since his life seems to be  reset.   One one occasion, he learns the secrets of the people of town and uses it to commit nefarious activities  each day  by seducing women, driving drunk and even tries committing theft and robbery.  His attempts to be closer to Rita fail and it made him more despondent to the point he started doing desperate measures with the hope of putting himself out of his misery by abducting the groundhog also named Phil, the towns mascot and in the ensuing chase heads for a quarry hoping to kill himself but instead finds himself still alive the following day on the same date.

At this point, he confided his experiences to Rita and advised him to try making himself a better man. Spurred by her advice, he painstakingly tried to get to know the townspeople more and Rita as well each day and building on these experiences, he is able to help most of the townspeople with their problems as well as learn something productive like ice sculpting, playing the piano he is also able to deliver a report no one in his crew ever heard him give before for it is the best one they have ever heard from him. Of course, he and Rita became very close as their relationship blossomed. The day after this, the time loop was broken when the next day is no longer Groundhog Day.

Although the movie is a comedy, it does have lessons it can teach which can be very enlightening.  If one were to explain the experience Phil has been going through, it is a case of a Buddhist phenomenon called  karma.   Karma is a concept which Buddhists and even Hindus subscribe to.  It is the  law of moral causation.   What it means is that how we live our life right now would create a corresponding consequence sometime in the future.  Living a righteous life will reap rewards while living the opposite will yield what most people call  poetic justice (Sayadaw, 2008) .

This is evident to each scenario Phil tried to live in the early parts of the film when he tried to commit wrongful acts. He tried to be happy but his personality dictated his program in life and as a result, he became unhappier, especially in trying to win Ritas affections and this drove him to try and commit suicide.  Fortunately for Phil (and it is a movie after all), he is given many chances to try again with the hope of achieving his goals of a happier life. At first, he may have squandered these and it was not until Rita goaded him into trying something different that his life began to turn around for the better (Ramis, 1993).

Sometimes, we wish we were given this same ability to  reset  our lives but unfortunately we are not as gifted as Phil.  However, this does not mean that our proverbial fate is sealed by our present conduct at present.  Each new day is an opportunity for us to live out life in pursuit of our dreams, goals and desires and as the law of karma goes, how we do it, as dictated by our attitudes, will lead to a certain result (Wenger, 2004).  Going back again to the film, when Phil was trying to seduce women, he is not helping himself in trying to win Ritas heart.  He is self-centered.  He thinks only of himself  There is something he wants from the things that he does and instead of getting the desired results, he gets the opposite and it is worse than before.   This is called  samsara,  the cycle of becoming driven by our karmic intentional activity.  It appears as though the universe tends to sense this and gives the corresponding reward (or punishment).  However, when he tried to do things differently later on, by  letting go  of his interests and began to take into consideration others, he (surprisingly) get the things his heart desired, particularly Rita.  According to a Buddhist scholar,
 If we recognize what is driving us, and clarify our true intention, the unexamined shadows are no longer about some solely external reality or objective weather, but about us. Each moment is a new beginning. Our projections and stance in the world can cast a long shadow on our lives, and the Spring of each moment is postponed for a long Winter. If you examine and test your perceptions, each moment brings forth a new world. If we lead an unexamined life, we feel each day is different, but it is really a rerun of our habits. If we examine a disciplined life closely, each instant can blossom into a unique flower (Wenger, 2004).

The challenge therefore is to change our habits, if we appear to be living our life the wrong way.  This can be done by not being too conscious of our desires.  Live each moment without giving it any thought.  If one were to remember the main argument of Buddhism, suffering is caused by our attachment to the material world.  We desire many of its things yet it is realistically impossible to have them all and our frustration feeds our suffering hence, we will never be happy.  Going back to Phils case, he won Rita over because his intentions are different now.  He does not attempt to possess her and this allowed genuine intimacy to enter and this broke the  samsara.

This is the lesson Buddhism intends to teach us, regardless of the faith we practice.  Surprisingly, this lesson can be learned by watching this film.  If one were to apply this in Christian teachings, we would be surprised to learn there is a similarity. Christian teachings teaches us not to be too attached with material things as well, that we should always turn our attention to God, where all things emanate. By turning to God, we can be sure of receiving many graces we stand to receive if we have enough faith to submit to His will and let Him guide our way.  For when we deviate from His will, we end up suffering. God, as well as Buddha, teaches us to let go and live our life without being too conscious about our desires and true to the law of karma, we will receive our just rewards.  Even though we cannot  reset  our lives like Phil Connor, each day is an opportunity to try again. As far as God is concerned, it is never too late so as long as one is till living.  For God, and even Buddha, there is no such thing as  too late.   We may not go back to the past and undo it.  We must use to future to do better.  It is by moving forward that we can find enlightenment and the fulfillment of our hearts desires.